Pilot Program between Indonesia's Express Transindo Utama & Uber

Express Transindo Utama, Indonesia's second-largest taxi operator, saw its shares surge on Monday morning (19/12) after the company announced a pilot program for ride-sharing and vehicle financing in Jakarta in cooperation with ride-hailing company Uber. The partnership involves the integration of Uber technology with the operations of the Indonesian listed taxi operator. Hence, Express drivers can take orders from the Uber app, in addition to their normal taxi services.

Shares of Express Transindo Utama, listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, surged 26.80 percent to IDR 194 a piece in the first trading session on Monday (19/12) after the news.

Over the past few years, Indonesian taxi operators have had it rough as ride-hailing firms such as Uber and GrabCar gained popularity due to cheap rates and the easy-to-handle app on mobile devices. Another important factor why people prefer to use a ride-hailing firm is because the tariff is set in advance and therefore it is in the interest of the driver to take the shortest route (a taxi driver would prefer to take it slow as that would let the meter run as long as possible).

Allowing Express drivers to take orders from the Uber app (through the new partnership) is therefore a good move. For Uber the partnership is necessary as - in line with local regulations - it needs a local partner in Indonesia. It is, however, not known when the program begins.

After Blue Bird, Express Transindo Utama is Indonesia's second-largest taxi operator, with a fleet of more than 11,000 taxis. Earlier this year, Blue Bird teamed up with Indonesian ride-hailing app Go-Jek.